Taj Mahal Replica to Be Built in Dubai

iStockphoto/Thinkstock(DUBAI, United Arab Emirates) -- Dubai will soon be adding another ostentatious building to its skyline as developers announced they plan to build an exact replica of India’s famed Taj Mahal, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The project, called “Taj Arabia,” will include a 300-room five star hotel, apartments, restaurants and shops, according to the development company Link Global. The price tag for the development is more than $350 million, according to the company’s website.

The original was built over 22 years in the 17th century in Agra, India. It was built by Shah Jahan for his deceased wife Mumtaz Mahal. Both are buried in the complex’s tomb.

The developers are hoping, among other things, that Taj Arabia will also become a symbol of love and a destination for weddings.

“Imagine if this immaculate tribute to love could be the setting for the milestone event in the life of a man and woman,” says the voice greeting visitors to the project’s website. “This dream will soon become reality.”

Taj Arabia would join copies of the Eiffel Tower, Egyptian Pyramids and Great Wall of China in Dubai’s Falcon City of Wonders.

Dubai is known for its massive and flashy developments. Others include the world’s tallest tower the Burj Khalifa, the iconic sail-shaped Burj al Arab hotel, one of the biggest malls in the world and an artificial archipelago of islands in the shape of a palm tree.